That had to be about the worst article I have read lately - 18 firefighters dead, zero details or even mention of them past sentence one. Are these things now being crowdsourced to twitter for content creation?

Silly reiteration aside, I'm curious as to how they could have died, as well - the fire was moving at half a mile an hour, at least according to the article, so I'd kind of ruled out "being overtaken."

Elzar:That had to be about the worst article I have read lately - 18 firefighters dead, zero details or even mention of them past sentence one. Are these things now being crowdsourced to twitter for content creation?

Jesus Fuking Christ

Must have been a last-minute edit. I don't think there is much detail known yet but that was a pretty despicable way to handle it.

Elzar:That had to be about the worst article I have read lately - 18 firefighters dead, zero details or even mention of them past sentence one. Are these things now being crowdsourced to twitter for content creation?

Jesus Fuking Christ

None of the other articles I've read gave any more details than this one.

Elzar:That had to be about the worst article I have read lately - 18 firefighters dead, zero details or even mention of them past sentence one. Are these things now being crowdsourced to twitter for content creation?

Jesus Fuking Christ

In a wildfire details are always almost impossible. They are unpredictable and highly dangerous. It could have been something as simple as the wind shifting, or the heat causing a gust that drove the fire into their laps. They can cover hundreds of feet in seconds.

I drove through Yarnell on Friday, just as the storm that sparked this fire was coming through. The last I had heard was that the fire was only up to 14 acres. I'm in complete shock that it got this bad this fast.

Great song by Richard Shindell about firefighters surrounded by a blaze: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgQNeGPJdcQ"Cry Cry Cry sings of the devastation of the Mann Gulch fire of 1949 through the point of view of Dodge, one of the remaining survivors. "

thelunatick:Elzar: That had to be about the worst article I have read lately - 18 firefighters dead, zero details or even mention of them past sentence one. Are these things now being crowdsourced to twitter for content creation?

Jesus Fuking Christ

In a wildfire details are always almost impossible. They are unpredictable and highly dangerous. It could have been something as simple as the wind shifting, or the heat causing a gust that drove the fire into their laps. They can cover hundreds of feet in seconds.

Do wildland firefighters not carry emergency shelters there? I know the fires move fast and all, but I'd like to think that we're learning from previous disasters. =/Did the shelters not work?

Typically, when it is dangerous to fight or when the resources are not important enough to just let burn. We had a monster 350,000 acre fire last year where I grew up and for many of the days, the firefighters turned into spectators. However, when you have hundreds of homes threatened as in the case with this fire, agencies will probably tend to keep thier crews engaged longer than otherwise prudent.

Somebody Else:Great song by Richard Shindell about firefighters surrounded by a blaze: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgQNeGPJdcQ"Cry Cry Cry sings of the devastation of the Mann Gulch fire of 1949 through the point of view of Dodge, one of the remaining survivors. "

HeadLever:ecmoRandomNumbers: At what point do you just say, "fark it. Just let it burn."

Typically, when it is dangerous to fight or when the resources are not important enough to just let burn. We had a monster 350,000 acre fire last year where I grew up and for many of the days, the firefighters turned into spectators. However, when you have hundreds of homes threatened as in the case with this fire, agencies will probably tend to keep thier crews engaged longer than otherwise prudent.

Two years ago we had our half-million acre fire. We stayed until the mandatory evacuations. Fire got to within 2 miles of my house. The whole time, though, I thought, "Well, at least we're insured."